Bolt-action firearm



T. C. JOHNSON.

BOLT ACTION FIREARM.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 24. 1919.

4 SHEETSSHEET l.

Patented Aug. 17', 1920.

Patented Aug. 17, 1920.

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sou ACTION FIREARM,

APPLICATION FILED MAY24,1919- Patented Aug. 17, 1920.

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BOLT ACTION FIREARM.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 24, 1919.

Patented Aug. 17,1920.

4 SHEETSSHEET 4.

I... LI L I I llklll 1 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS C. JOHNSON, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO WINCHESTER REPEATING ARMS CO., OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION.

BOLT-ACTION FIREARM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 1'7, 1920.

Application filed May 24, 1919. Serial No. 299,412.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS C. J OHNSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at New Haven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Bolt-Action Firearms; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the characters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this application, and represent, in

Figure 1 a broken view in right hand side elevation of a bolt-action firearm embodying my invention.

*ig. 2 a view thereof partly in vertical, longitudinal section, and partly in elevation, showing the bolt closed, the firingpin cocked and a cartridge in the cartridgechamber.

Fig. 3 a corresponding view showing the gun in its uncooked, safe or carrying position.

Fig. 4 a detached view in side elevation of the bolt-housing with the barrel broken away at the forward end of the cartridgechamber.

Fig. 5 a view in transverse section of the bolt-housing on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4, looking forward.

Fig. 6 a view of the bolt-housing in transverse section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 4 also looking forward.

Fig. 7 a view in rear elevation of the bolthousing, stripped.

Fig. 8 a sectional View on the line 8-8 of Fig. 4, showing-the spring employed to hold the bolt-handle in its locked position.

Fig. 9 a detached view in side elevation of the combined cartridge-ejector and bolthead guide.

Fig. 10 a detached end view of the searmounting block.

Fig. 11 a View thereof in side elevation.

Fig. 12 a detached plan view of the body or handle-member of the two-part bolt.

Fig. 13 a view thereof in front elevation.

Fig. 14 a view thereof in rear elevation, with the handle removed.

Fig. 15 a corresponding view of the bolthead, showing the extractors.

Fig. 16 a side View thereof.

Fig. 17 a View thereof in front elevation.

Fig. 18 a view thereof in rear elevation.

Fig. 19 a detached view in side elevation of the firing-pin comprising a rigid body and resilient needle.

Fig. 20 a rear end view thereof.

Fig. 21 a detached plan view of the sear.

Fig. 22 a view thereof in side elevation.

Fig. 23 a broken view of the gun in horizontal longitudinal section with the bolt in its closing position to show the cuts in the bolt-housing to permit the engagement of the extractors with the head of a cartridge in the cartridge-chamber.

Fig. 24 a broken detached plan view of the bolt-housing and barrel, shown as stripped.

My invention relates to an improvement in bolt-action firearms, and is particularly designed for embodiment in shot guns, though not so limited, the object being to produce at a low cost for manufacture, a simple, light and convenient gun having few parts, not liable to derangement, and constructed with particular reference to safet in the hands of the user.

With these ends in view, my invention consists in a bolt-action gun characterized by a rebounding firing-pin which is not cooked by the opening or closing of the breech-bolt and which is prevented from contact with the primer of a cartridge in the cartridge-chamber except when the trigger, is held back.

My invention further consists in a boltaction firearm having certain details of construction and combinations of parts as will be hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims.

In carrying out my invention as herein shown, the gun-barrel 10 is formed at its rear end with an integral extension providing a bolt-housing 11 slightly larger in diameter than the diameter of the barrel and cylindrical throughout its length. The said bolt-housing has a uniform bore 12 entering it at its rear end and terminating at its forward end in an annular loading bevel 13 which merges at its rear edge into the full diameter of the bore 12, and at its forward edge into the full diameter of the cartridgechamber 14 in the barrel 10, so that there is no shoulder or obstruction between the bore and the chamber for fouling the feeding of the cartridges into the chamber.

The bolt-housing 11 is formed in its forward portion with a loading-opening 15 opening upwardly and laterally to the right and longer than the longest cartridges to be used in the gun, and in its rear portion with a handle-slot 16 located substantially in line with the said loading-opening, extended at its rear end through the housing 11 and terminating at its forward end in a transverse handle-looking slot 17 the rear wall 18 of which forms the looking or recoilshoulder of the arm. The curved wall conjoining the forward end of the left hand wall of the slot 16 and the forward wall of the transverse slot 17 forms an extracting cam 19 which co -acts with the forward surface of the bolt-handle 20 in extracting the spent cartridges. The two-part cylindrical bolt of my improved gun fits within the bore 12 of the housing 11 and consists of a body or handle-member 21 and a bolt head or extractor-member 22, the former being provided with the laterally extending handle 20 aforesaid and the two members being connected together so as to move as one piece and so as to permit the handle-member to be rotated relative to the head-member for locking and unlocking the bolt. For this purpose the handle-member 21 is formed at its forward end with an integral concentric coupling-stem 23 entering a corresponding concentric hole 24 formed in the rear end of the bolt-head. The stem 23 is formed with a circumferential coupling-groove 25 receiving a coupling-pin 26 mounted in the head 22 and coupling the body and head together so as to permit the body to be partially rotated irrespective of the head. If desired, the stem 23 and hole 24 may be re versed.

At its forward end the bolt-head is formed with two oppositely located slots 27 respectively receiving two pivotal, spring extrac tors 28, the outer edges of which normally lie entirely within the exterior surface of the bolt-head and the hooked forward ends of which extend beyond the forward face thereof. Topermit the left hand extractor to spring laterally outward and ride over and engage with the rim of a cartridge such as 84, in the cartridge-chamber 14, the left hand wall of the bolt-housing 11 is formed with a longitudinal clearance or extractor slot 29, the forward end of which extends forward of the rear end of the cartridgechamber 14. This slot also provides a gas vent. For the corresponding outward movement of the right hand extractor 28, the housing 11 is formed with a clearance or extractor notch 30 leading out of the lower corner of the front end of the loading-opening 15. The forward end of the slot 29 and the forward end of the notch 30, are beveled as at 31 to permit the hooked front ends of the extractors to move forward of the rear end of the cartridge-chamber so as to enable them to hook over the rim of the cartridge without cutting into the walls of the eartridge-chamber itself. By forming the slot 29 and notch 30 in the bolt-housing, I avoid the common construction of forming grooves within the bolt-housing for the reception and clearance of extractors having their outer edges projecting beyond the surface of the bolt, my improved construction being simpler, cheaper and stronger.

To provide for the ejection of the spent cartridges, for the guidance of the bolthead, and to hold the same against rotation, I employ a combined ejector and bolt-guide 32 (Fig. 9) mounted in a slot 33 (Fig. 2) formed in the bottom of the bore 12 of the bolt-housing 11 near the rear end of the loading-opening 15 thereof, the upper end of the ejector rising into a longitudinal slot 34 formed in the lower face of the bolt-head which is thus prevented from rotating as it is moved back and forth into its locked and unlocked positions.

The body 21 of the bolt is formed with a concentric chamber 35 for the reception of the firing-pin 36 and with a hole 37 leading out of the forward end of the said chamber for the reception of the firing-pin needle 38, my improved firing pin being characterized by a rigid rod-like or cylindrical body and a long slender resilient blunt-ended striker 38 approximately corresponding in length to the length of the body and having substantially its entire length sheathed therein and designed, on account of its length and resiliency, to impart a stinging blow to the primer and to rebound therefrom thereafter, as distinguished from firing-pins which are relatively rigid and inert in their character and from firing-pins of the needle type which are sharp-pointed and unsheathed, being designed to penetrate the bases and the powder charges of cartridges in order to reach primers located at the bases of the bullets thereof.

The rear end of the bolt-body 21 is formed with a longitudinal sear-slot 39 (Fig. 12) intersecting at its rear end a transverse searclearance slot 40 made necessary by the rotation of the bolt-body at the end of its forward excursion. The scar 41 (Figs. 21 and 22) is formed with two upstanding mounting or suspension lugs 42 perforated as at 43 for the reception of a pivot 44 extending through a dovetailed sear-mounting block 45 inserted into a transverse, dovetail or undercut slot 46 in the lower face of the bolt-housing 11, the opposite sides of which are recessed as at 47 (Fig. 4) for the clearance of the upper ends of the upstanding lugs 42, which are sufiiciently separated for the entrance of the block 45 between them. The employment of the block 45 avoids the necessity, which would otherwise exist, of using a bolt-housing of larger diameter.

The sear 41 is formed with a rearwardly extending arm 41 terminating in an upstanding lug 48 the forward edge of which is rounded to form a bolt-stop shoulder 49 co acting with the rounded forward end of the sear-slot 39, in preventing the bolt from being drawn rearward out of the housing. The rear edge of the lug 48 has a rightangled sear-nose 50 which co-acts with a cocking-notch 51 in the firing-pin body 36 and also with an annular safety-shoulder 52 formed in the said body to the rear of the said notch and separated therefrom by an annular bevel 53 over which the beveled face 54 of the lug 48 rides when the firing-pin is being drawn into its cocked position. The sear is also formed with a downwardly and rearwardly inclined trigger-slot 55 for the reception of the rounded or knuckle-like end of the operating-arm 56 of the trigger 57 which is located in a vertical slot 58 in the gun-stock 59 and hung upon a pivot 60, the finger-piece 61 of the trigger extending downward into the usual trigger-guard 62. The forward end of the sear is extended to form a thumb-piece 63 formed in its upper face with a recess 63 for the reception of a helical sear-spring 64 the upper coil of which rests against the lower face of the bolt-housing at a point directly in front of the sear-mounting block 45. The separation of the lugs 42 for the reception of the block 45, permits the forward end of the sear to be made wide enough for its use as a thumbpiece as described, the lower face of the thumb-piece presenting a relatively broad surface as compared with the sear-arm 41 and as compared with the forward arms of the sears of the prior art. By constructing the sear as described, with the forwardly extending thumb-piece 63 and with the rearwardly extending arm 41 having the triggerslot 55 and the lug 48, and pivotally connecting the sear between its said thumbpiece and arm, to the lower face of the bolthousing, I am enabled to manually operate the sear with very little exertion, for disengaging the bolt-stop shoulder 49 of its lug 48 from the bolt to permit the withdrawal of the bolt from the gun after the stock has been separated from the combined barrel and receiver by loosening the screw 82. Moreover, the inclined relation of the trigger-slot 55 in the arm 41 of the sear, to the arm 56 of the trigger, enables the gun to be taken down and put together very readily.

The rear end of the firing-pin body 36 is entered by a deep hole 65 for the reception of a helical firingpin spring 66 the rear end of which abuts against a transverse stop-pin 67 mounted in the rear end of the bolt-body and passing through a clearance slot 68 in the rear end of the firing-pin body. At its rear end thefiring-pin is provided with a knurled operating-button or finger-piece 69 having a stem 70 fitting into the rear end of the hole 65 in the firing-pin body 36 and secured in place by a pin 71. The forward end of the stem 70 has a slot 72 which forms a clearance for the firing-pin stoppin 67, the extreme forward end of the stem 70 also constituting an abutment for the rear end of the firing-pin spring 66, as shown in Fig. 3.

The parts just above described, are proportioned so that when the sear-nose 50 is engaged with the safety-shoulder 52 of the firing-pin body, the extreme point of the firing-pin striker 38 will be held from contact with the primer of a cartridge 84 in the chamber 14, for a distance represented in Fig. 3 by the space 74, while the space 75 in the same figure between the forward end of the firing-pin body 36 and the bottom of the hole 65 in the bolt-body, represents substantially the total rebound of the firing-pin.

I may state in this connection that by the term rebounding firing-pin as used by me, I wish to be understood as describing a firing-pin which may be withdrawn by a small amount from its extreme forward position, before its spring begins to be put under ten- SlOIl.

The firing-pin striker 38 extends forward through a hole 37 leading out of the forward end of the concentric chamber 35 in the bolt-body 21. The striker thence extends forward through a clearance-hole 76 in the bolt-head and through a guide-hole 77 leading out of the forward end of the hole 76. No friction is thus imposed upon the action of the striker except the slight friction developed by its play in the guidehole 77. By making the firing-pin as described, of a .body and a striker, I secure a firing-pin of the necessary length for a gun of the type described, with extreme lightness, so that under the influence of its spring, it leaps forward and strikes with a quick, elastic, resilient blow upon the primer-an action much to be preferred to the more sluggish blows of heavier and slower moving firing-pins.

To enable the bolt-handle 20 to be turned downward into its closed and locked position, I for-m in the gun-stock 59 a downwardly inclined clearance-notch 78 which permits the handle to move to the bottom of the handle-locking slot 17 in the bolthousing 11. To look the handle in this position, I furnish it with a locking-pin 79 which rides over a locking-spring 80 consisting of a short length of spring wire mounted in a longitudinal cut 81 in the right hand side of the bolt-housing, the rear end of the spring being slightly bent outward so that the locking-pin 79 must spring it to ride over it. As shown, the stock mounts a takedown screw 82 entered into a threaded bushing 83 dovetailed into the gun-barrel 10 just beneath the rear portion of the cartridge-chamber 14 therein.

The so called safety appliances of the bolt-action firearms now on the market, only perform their safety function when consciously applied by some act of the user of the arm which does not, therefore, provide the desired factor of safety unless such act is consciously performed. My improved gun as herein described, is distinguished from such guns of the prior art by the fact that its safety feature is in the constant discharge of its safety function except when suspended by a conscious act of the user to make it unsafe except, of course, in the normal use of the gun at the instant of firing, which is done without any conscious act of the user to remove the safety factor as required by gunsof the class in which the safety appliance can only be applied by the conscious act of the user. In my improved gun, the sear automatically, under the influence of its spring, engages its searnose with the safety shoulder of the firingpin which is provided with this safetyshoulder, in addition to its ordinary cocking-notch.

In using my improved gun, assuming it to be loaded, the sear-nose 50 will normally be engaged with the safety-shoulder 52 of the firing-pin which will thus be prevented from moving forward. If the user at this time starts to cock the gun by pulling rearward upon the finger-button 69 of the firing-pin, and accidentally lets go of the button before the firing pin is cocked, the spring 66 thus put under tension will carry the firing-pin forward, but the firing-pin striker 38 will be prevented from striking the primer by the automatic engagement of the sear-nose with the annular safetyshoulder of the pin. When the firing-pin thus has its safety shoulder engaged with the sear, no accidental blow or unintentional pull upon the firing-pin can fire the gun off. It is only the pulling of the trigger that takes off the safety feature of the arm by preventing the engagement of the sear-nose with the safety-shoulder of the firing-pin.

I claim v 1. A bolt-action firearm having a bolt, a trigger, a sear and a rebounding firing-pin having a cocking-slot and a safety-shoulder, the said firing-pin comprising a cylindrical body mounting in its forward end a long, cylindrical, slender, resilient, blunt-ended striker, and the said sear being engaged with the cocking-slot of the firing-pin upon the manual retraction thereof and being engaged with the safety-shoulder of the firingpin upon the closing of the bolt.

2. A bolt-action firearm having a bolt, a trigger, a sear and a rebounding firing-pin comprising a cylindrical body having a cocking-slot and an annular safety-shoulder, and mounting in its forward end a long, slender, resilient, blunt-ended striker, and the said sear co-acting with the said cockingslot when the firing-pin is manually retracted and with the said annular safetyshoulder upon the closing of the bolt.

3. A bolt-action firearm having a bolt, a trigger, a scar and a firing-pin comprising a body having a cocking-slot and a safetyshoulder and mounting in its forward end a long, slender, resilient, blunt-ended striker sheathed substantially throughout its entire length in the said bolt and proportioned and adapted to spring transversely upon impact against a cartridge, whereby the entire firing-pin is thrown backward free of the cartridge and its safety-shoulder engaged by the said sear.

4:. A bolt-action firearm having a trigger, a sear, a cylindrical bolt comprising a boltbody and a bolt-head having relative rotary movement, and a firing-pin comprising a cylindrical body having a cocking-slot and a safety-shoulder and mounting a long, slender, resilient, blunt-pointed striker extending forward through the said bolt-head, sheathed substantially throughout its entire length therein and proportioned and adapted to spring transversely upon impact against a cartridge, whereby the entire firing-pin is thrown backward free of the cartridge and its safety-shoulder engaged by the said sear.

5. A bolt-action firearm having a trigger, a sear, a bolt-housing formed with a cylindrical bore, a two-part bolt located within the said bore and comprising a bolt-head and a bolt-body, one of the said bolt-members being formed with a concentric coupling-stem, and the other with a hole to receive the said stem, and means for rotatably securing the said stem in the said hole; and a cylindrical two-part firing-pin located in the said bolt and comprising a body having a cockingslot and an annular safety-shoulder and mounting a long, slender, resilient, bluntended striker, proportioned and adapted to spring transversely upon impact against a cartridge, whereby the entire firing-pin is thrown backward free of the cartridge and its safety-shoulder engaged by the said sear.

6. In a bolt-action firearm, the combination with the bolt-housing thereof, of a searmounting block inserted into a transverse slot in the lower face of the said housing, and a sear formed with two up-standing lugs by means of which it is pivoted to the said block which extends between them, the sear being extended in front of the said lugs to form a thumb-piece the lower face of which is fiat and the upper face of which is adapted 1 l u are;

gamers 'saidhousing, a firing-pin within the bolt, a trigger, a sear and a sear-spring, the said sear having upstanding lugs by means of which it is pivotally connected with the said block which extends between them, and having its forward end extended to form a thumb-piece with which the said sear-spring co-acts and having its relatively narrow rear portion adapted to co-act with the said firing-pin and trigger.

8. A bolt-action firearm having a trigger, a sear, a bolt-housing, a bolt comprising a cylindrical bolt-body and a bolt-head connected for relative rotary movement, and a long firing-pin located within the bolt and comprising a cylindrical body having a cocking-slot and an annular safety-shoulder and a long, slender, resilient, blunt-pointed striker substantially the entire length of which is sheathed within the said bolt-head,

the said striker being proportioned and adapted to spring transversely upon impact against a cartridge and by its reaction to free itself therefrom.

9. In a bolt-action firearm, the combination with a bolt-housing, of a two-part cylindrical bolt located therein and comprising a body-member and a head-member, the former being rotatable for locking and unlocking the bolt, a one-piece combined boltguide and ejector mounted in the bolt-hous ing and entering a groove in the head-member of the bolt for holding the same against rotation and located in position to eject the spent cartridges when the bolt is retracted, and a substantially cylindrical two-part firing-pin comprising a body and a long, slender, resilient, blunt-pointed striker proportioned and adapted to yield transversely upon impact against a cartridge.

10. In a bolt-action firearm, the combination with a bolt-housing, of a two-part cylindrical bolt located therein and comprising a body-member and a head-member, the former being rotatable for locking and unlocking the bolt, a one-piece combined boltguide and ejector mounted in the bolt-housing substantially midway between the ends thereof and entering a groove in the headmember of the bolt for holding the same against rotation and located in position to eject the spent cartridges when the bolt is retracted, and a substantially cylindrical two-part firing-pin comprising a body and a long, slender, resilient, blunt-pointed striker proportioned and adapted to spring transversely upon impact against a cartridge and by its reaction to free itself therefrom.

11. A bolt-action firearm having a substantially cylindrical bolt-housing, a twopart cylindrical bolt comprising a bodymember and a head-member, the said members being relatively rotatable; a one-piece combined bolt-guide and ejector comprising a substantially flat piece of sheet metal hav ing an enlarged lower end and located rigidly in a longitudinal slot cut through the bottom wall of the bolt-housing substantially midway between the ends thereof.

12. A bolt-action firearm having a twopart cylindrical bolt of which the rear part turns with respect to the forward part, a firing-pin comprising a cylindrical body having a cocking-slot and a safety-shoulder and at its forward end mounting a long, cylindrical, resilient, blunt-pointed striker normally sheathed entirely throughout its length within the said bolt, and a firing-pin spring completely housed within the body of the firing-pin for the operation thereof.

18. A bolt-action firearm having a housing, a two-part cylindrical bolt located therein, a firing-pin comprising a cylindrical bodyhaving a cocking-slot, a safetyshoulder, a longitudinal cylindrical hole entering its rear end and mounting at its forward end a long, slender, resilient, blunt-pointed striker normally housed entirely within the said two-part bolt, a firing-pin head entering the rear end of the said hole in the body of the firing-pin, a firing-pin spring located in the said hole and interposed between the forward end thereof and the firing-pin head, a sear for co-action with the cocking-slot and safetyshoulder of the body of the firing-pin, and a trigger co-acting with the said sear.

14. A bolt-action firearm having a housing, a two-part bolt located therein of which the rear part turns relatively to the forward part and is entered at its rear end by a concentric chamber, a firing-pin comprising a cylindrical body-portion housed within the said chamber, engaging at its forward end with the forward wall thereof for limiting its forward movement, and mounting at its forward end a long, slender, resilient, blunt-ended striker normally sheathed throughout its entire length with in the bolt, and a firing-pin spring housed entirely within the said body-portion of the pin.

15. A firing-pin for a bolt-action firearm, the said pin comprising a cylindrical body having a cocking-slot and a safety-shoulder and entered at its rear end by a cylindrical hole, a long, slender, resilient, blunt-pointed striker having its rear end entered into and secured within the forward end of the said body, a firing-pin head entering the rear end of the said hole in the body, and a firing-pin spring located between the forward end of the said hole and the stem of the said head and housed entirely within the said body.

16. A bolt-action firearm having a bolthousing, a two-part bolt comprising a front portion and a rear portion connected for relative rotation, the said rear portion having a longitudinal sear-slot terminating at its forward end in a stop-shoulder and a lateral sear-clearance slot intersecting the rear end of the said longitudinal sear-slot, a sear mounted in the said housing and entering the said slots, and a firing-pin housed Within the said two-part bolt and adapted to co-act with the said sear through the said slots, the sear co-acting With the imam forward end of the longitudinal sear-slot 10 to prevent the Withdrawal of the bolt.

In testimony whereof, I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

THOMAS C. JOHNSON.

WVitnesses:

F REDERIC C. EARLE, CLARA L. WEED. 

